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Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs. Leeds United

Sports Mole previews Saturday's early Championship kickoff as Queens Park Rangers host Leeds at Loftus Road.

Queens Park Rangers will look to get their automatic promotion bid back on track when they host Leeds United at Loftus Road on Saturday.

Harry Redknapp's side have suffered three straight defeats and only picked up a single point in February, leaving them seven points behind second-placed Burnley.

In-form Derby County also moved above the R's during their poor spell, so they now sit down in fourth in the Championship table, although they do have a game in hand over the three teams above them.

Their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Reading last Sunday was their first home league defeat in five matches and just their second of the entire season, with only leaders Leicester City having amassed more points in front of their own fans.

However, they have now conceded six goals in their last two home encounters having only let in six in their 15 home league matches prior to that.

They do still boast the league's stingiest defence, although their tally of 25 goals conceded is now just one better than Burnley.

Goalscoring has been a consistent worry for the Hoops this season and only two teams outside the bottom five of the table have found the net fewer times than them in the current campaign.

The hosts will have loanee Ravel Morrison available once again for the match, but defender Max Ehmer has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury while Joey Barton is suspended.

Leeds, meanwhile, still have faint aspirations of making a late charge for the playoffs this season, and victory on Saturday would be a massive boost to their chances.

They are currently down in 11th place, seven points behind sixth-placed Reading, but they have a game in hand over the Royals and could move as high as eighth should results go their way this weekend.

Brian McDermott's side have turned things around in recent weeks with just one defeat in their last five outings following a run of five straight losses in all competitions.

Their away record will still be a worry, however, as they have only scored in one of their last five matches on the road and picked up a solitary victory in their last seven.

The Whites will be boosted by the loan signings of Jack Butland, who made an impressive debut in the goalless draw against Middlesbrough, and Connor Wickham, who joined from Sunderland earlier this week.

Wickham is likely to slot straight into the team alongside Ross McCormack, who is the league's leading scorer with 22 goals.

Recent form

QPR: WWDLLL

Leeds: LDWWLD

Possible starting lineups

QPR: Green; Onuoha, Dunne, Hill, Traore; Hughes, Jenas, Morrison, Carroll; Doyle, Hoilett

Leeds: Butland; Wootton, Pearce, Peltier, Warnock; Kebe, Austin, Murphy, Stewart, Wickham; McCormack

Sports Mole says: 1-0


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Brian McDermott. manager of Leeds United looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United at Hillsborough Stadium on January 11, 2014
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


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